The first step to receiving salvation is realizing that you actually need it! You may have heard the story of Adam and Eve before, but it is important that you know that the story isn’t a fairy tale. It is the true story of two very real people who allowed Satan to deceive them into denying God’s Word and His will; who, through their disobedience to God, changed the whole course of man’s existence here on earth. The day Adam chose to believe Satan’s word over God’s Word, sin entered the earth and separated God and man. Through this original sin, all of mankind has inherited a sinful nature…including you.

Makes you want to slap ole Adam, doesn’t it?! But seriously, unless you do your part to personally rectify this sin by receiving God’s free gift of salvation through Jesus, sin will send you to hell. And, you don’t want that to be your future, especially when the way to Heaven is so easily accessible!

Of course, even if you don’t consider yourself a really sinful person, you can not deny that you haven’t done some wrong in your life. Romans 3:23 confirms that All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Sin has got to be paid for, and the punishment for sin is spiritual death. Sin separates man from God. It separated man from God the first day he sinned in the garden, and it continues to separate man from God today. But, it isn’t God’s will for Him to be separated from us. After all, He loves us! So, what has He done? He has created a fool-proof plan of salvation that enables us to be “born again” or spiritually reborn, so that He can communicate with us once again! So, although you could try and pay for your sins yourself, (Romans 6:23 says The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.), the better option is to choose God’s plan of salvation! After all, it’s only through His plan that you can be assured of spending eternal life in Heaven.

The Bible records that wonderful plan in John 3:16. There it says, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. So, according to that scripture, what did God give to make everlasting life possible for you? His Son, Jesus! And what must you personally do to receive His gift of everlasting life? Believe in Jesus! What does that mean? It means that you must believe that Jesus is the only Son of God and that He came to earth as a man, died on the cross for the sins of the world and was supernaturally raised from the dead. In His life, Jesus was blameless, and He resisted all sin. But, even though He was sinless, He chose to die a brutal death for the sins of the whole world…including you. The Bible says that He personally carried the load of our sins in His own body when He died on the cross. He paid the price so you don’t have to! (1Peter 2:24)

The cross is your way out of sin (separation from God) and into life (free-flowing communication with God)! All you have to do to become a child of God and have your sins washed away (never to be remembered against you anymore) is personally accept God’s plan of salvation. In other words, to get saved, you need Jesus! So, the first thing you need to do is: ADMIT. Admit you are a sinner and have a spiritual need. Then, REPENT. Repent from your sin and be willing to turn away from your sin. Next, BELIEVE. Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross for YOU personally. And lastly, RECEIVE. Receive Jesus into your heart and life through prayer. Romans 10:9 assures you that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

So, are you ready to believe with your heart and confess with your mouth? If so, all you have to do is pray the following prayer:”Lord Jesus, I ask You to come into my life and forgive me of all my sins. I confess my sins before You this day. I denounce Satan and all his works. I confess Jesus as the Lord of my life. Thank You for saving me. I believe with my heart and I confess with my mouth that You rose from the dead. I am saved. Write my name in the Lamb’s book of life. Today is my God-day with the Lord Jesus! I pray this prayer to the Father in the name of Jesus. Amen.”

Congratulations! If you’ve just prayed this prayer with a sincere heart, you’ve just been “born again,” adopted into the family of God. Now, wasn’t that easy? The world tries to make it hard sometimes, but God doesn’t. He loves you so much. He makes it easy for you to come to Him. You may not feel any different, but that’s all right. Salvation doesn’t come by feeling, it comes by faith! By faith you believe that God’s Word is true. By faith you acknowledge that Jesus is God’s only Son, and through His death on the cross and resurrection from the grave, you have redemption from sin and eternal life in Heaven! You’re saved! You can now say what millions throughout time have said, “I once was lost but now I’m found!” Once you were separated from God, now you’re His child! Once you were going to Hell. Now, you’re going to Heaven!

You don’t have to worry if you “did it right” or “said it right.” If you were serious in your heart when you prayed the sinner’s prayer, you’re saved! No matter what you’ve done in your life, your sin has been completely washed away by Jesus’ blood. Ephesians 2:8-9 puts it this way, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. That scripture proves that your salvation doesn’t depend on your strength or ability. It depends on Jesus’! And His blood is more than able to take care of your salvation! So, don’t doubt the gift God has given to you.

Now that you’re born again, it is vitally important that you follow-up your decision by taking a few steps such as these: First, take a firm stand for Jesus. Tell somebody else about your decision to serve Jesus. Begin reading and studying the Bible to find out more about your new life in Jesus. Remember, the Bible is your “manual” for living. My father, Brother Jesse, likes to call it a welfare book…after all, it’s there for your welfare. And if you obey it, you’ll fare well! (Ha!)

Next, make a commitment to talk to God every day. You don’t have to use big words. God knows who you are and how you talk, so just be yourself with Him. God loves you! Prayer will just make your relationship with Him stronger. Then, ask the Lord to lead you to a church that preaches the Word and worships freely. Make sure you attend regularly; don’t slip into a habit of not going to church. Remember, just as your physical body needs food to live, your spirit needs the Word of God to live too. Spiritually speaking, you’re a newborn baby right now. You need a good church to feed you! So, don’t neglect your spirit. Go to church this Sunday.

Listening to preaching tapes by men and women of God who you can relate to will also help you. Coupled with your own time of Bible reading and praying, hearing other people preach on the Word can open your eyes to scriptures that you’ve never read before and help you learn even more about your new life as a Christian.

by Jesse Duplantis